Professor Noam Chomsky, an American linguist and left-wing
activist, was denied entry into Israel on Sunday, for reasons that were not
immediately clear.

US linguist, philosopher and political activist Noam Chomsky is among US actors
and liberal intellectuals who joined a list to be published Friday accusing
President Barack Obama of allowing human rights violations and war crimes. (AFP/DDP/File/Sascha
Schuermann)

Chomsky, who was scheduled to deliver a lecture at Bir Zeit University near
Jerusalem, told the Right to Enter activist group by telephone that inspectors
had stamped the words "denied entry" onto his passport when he tried to cross
from Jordan over Allenby Bridge.

When he asked an Israeli inspector why he had not received permission, he was
told that an explanation would be sent in writing to the American embassy.

Chomsky arrived at the Allenby Bridge at around 1:30 in the afternoon and was
taken for questioning, before being released back to Amman at 4:30 P.M.

Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabine Haddad said Chomsky was turned away for
various reasons but declined to elaborate. The ministry was looking into
allowing him to enter only the West Bank, said Haddad.

In a telephone interview with Channel 10, Chomsky said the interrogators had
told him he had written things that the Israeli government did not like.

Amira Hass was born July 28, 1956) is a prominent left-wing Israeli journalist and author, mostly known for her columns in the daily newspaper Ha'aretz. She is particularly recognized for her reporting on Palestinian affairs in the West Bank and Gaza, where she has also lived for a number of years.